Originally called California National Forest in 1908, this area between Interstate 5 and Highway 101 was renamed Mendocino National Forest 24 years later. It stretches north-south along the Coast Range covering parts of six counties north of San Francisco. Similar to Los Padres National Forest, it contains rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil, like Sargent cypress and the shorter McNab cypress. Both species can be found along Frenzel Creek near Little Stoney Campground. In 1953, a Forest Service employee and 14 volunteer firefighters died in the Rattlesnake Fire and a memorial overlooking Rattlesnake Canyon is located off Forest Highway 7 on Alder Springs Road. Mendocino National Forest includes the northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (see our full blog post), established in 2015 and administered in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management.
Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.
There are 18 National Forests in California (the most of any state), but Mendocino is the only one not crossed by a paved highway. It is a wonderful destination for outdoor recreation, both motorized and non-motorized, including Hull Mountain which is popular with hang gliders. Lake Pillsbury is 2,280 acres and offers boat ramps, campgrounds, and a resort, while 35-acre Letts Lake has a campground and access to hiking trails.
Best Trail
As we drove the winding road from Stonyford to the tiny roadside pullout for Deafy Glade Trail, we passed campgrounds full of RVs that were getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, as we dropped down to and waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and then climbed steeply to 5,300 feet in elevation. The trail continued to the summit of 7,056-foot Snow Mountain, but we already had great views of the Rice Valley and decided to turn around at the 4.5-mile point, just inside the official boundary of the Snow Mountain Wilderness. We expected a desolate landscape after reading about recent fires, but about three-quarters of the trees along the trail were still alive and showed only minor charring at their bases.
Watchable Wildlife
Mendocino National Forest protects a biodiverse area home to tule elk, black-tailed deer, river otters, black bears, and mountain lions. Rivers that drain these highlands are used by California coastal chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead. Fishing in the lakes is a popular activity and a chance to see ospreys and bald eagles.
Photographic Opportunity
On Deafy Glade Trail, there were congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds along the South Fork of Stony Creek.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
None
Road Conditions
Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with motorcycles and OHVs, so keep an eye out for them while driving.
Camping
Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground among many others, plus there are countless places for dispersed camping.
Wilderness Areas
Sanhedrin Wilderness
Snow Mountain Wilderness
Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness (also in Six Rivers and Trinity National Forests)
Yuki Wilderness (also run by the Bureau of Land Management)
North of the San Francisco Bay and west of Interstate 5, flat-topped 7,056-foot Snow Mountain sheds water into the Berryessa Valley and the Sacramento River. High elevations are dominated by conifers, while below there are oak-studded hillsides, canyons full of riparian trees, and rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil. In 2024, the 13,696-acre Molok Luyuk (“Condor Ridge” in the Patwin language) was added to the National Monument since it contains evidence of human occupation dating back more than 10,000 years.
Cache Creek Wilderness, Knoxville Recreation Area, Nye Cabin, Prather Mill, Deafy Glade Trail, Redbud Trail
Must-Do Activity
In the portion of the National Monument run by the Bureau of Land Management, Cache Creek Wilderness is one of the main attractions for whitewater rafting and backpacking. Redbud and Judge Davis Trailheads off paved Highway 20 provide the easiest access for hikers. Further south, Knoxville Recreation Area encompasses rugged terrain for exploration with off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument within Mendocino National Forest has a network of dirt roads that are also popular with OHV riders. In the far north, Hull Mountain is utilized by hang gliders.
Best Trail
In Mendocino National Forest, Deafy Glade Trail starts at a tiny roadside pullout along Fouts Springs Road where campgrounds were full of RVs getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, past congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds as we waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and climbed steeply to the boundary of the 60,076-acre Snow Mountain Wilderness. The trail continues to climb 4,300 feet total to the summit over the course of eight miles. It is half that length with only 2,000 feet of elevation gain from the west via Summit Trail, although the last 1.5 miles of the access road may be impassable to vehicles.
Photographic Opportunity
From our turnaround spot on Deafy Glade Trail we got great views of the Rice Valley.
Peak Season
Spring
Fees
None
Road Conditions
Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with OHVs, so keep an eye out for them. Further south, Highway 20 is a paved route to trailheads in Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, but four-wheel-drive may be required to access Buck Island Campground. The new Molok Luyuk section northeast of Clear Lake is reached by the gravel Walker Ridge Road that requires a high-clearance vehicle.
Camping
Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground, plus numerous others outside the National Monument boundaries. There are several campgrounds on Lake Berryessa, in addition to the ones at Clear Lake State Park and Cache Creek Canyon Regional Park.
It is gift buying season again, so here are the best ideas for the person on your list who loves National Monuments. This year we published Monumental America, our travel guidebook to the 138 National Monuments, so we have had those often-overlooked public lands on our minds. We previously published our Top 10 Gifts for National Park Lovers.Click here to see all of our Top 10 Lists, including some book lists that may help you find a special gift for your favorite reader. As always, products we have created are available under the Shop tab above. We also have a Pinterest board for National Monuments, as well as one for National Park gifts and those harder-to-find National Forest gifts.
10. Postcards
For someone who loves one of the 138 National Monuments, pick up a postcard from Anderson Design Group
9. Quarters
The U.S. Mint finished releasing its America the Beautiful series in 2021; there are books and maps highlighting all 56 quarters (and you can buy the entire set for little more than the coins’ value)
8. Phone Case
Devils Tower became the first National Monument in 1906, so why not commemorate it on the one thing you take with you everywhere?
7. Coasters
We often purchase a Lantern Press coaster from the National Park Service bookstore during our visits, but there are also sets for sale online
Artwork or photographs of our beautiful National Monuments make a great gift and there are an overwhelming number of options (try starting at Creative Action Network)
2. Clothing
T-shirts, hoodies, socks, and anything else people wear have all been emblazoned with National Monument logos and images; did you know the Statue of Liberty is a National Monument?
…and finally our #1 gift featuring National Monuments:
Especially if your National Monuments journey is just getting started, our one-of-a-kind guidebook can help with planning the travel logistics
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Honorable Mentions
Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles had a renaissance during the pandemic and there are many National Monument options in photographs or artwork
Photo album or photo board
We passport stamp all of the “unigrid” pamphlets (like the ones Echo the Raven poses with for each NPS blog post) from the parks and collect them in a photo album (actually three since we have visited 414 of 433 units so far)
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
We recently published our guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, so we decided to start a new type of blog post where we create a travel itinerary for all 50 states, in addition to our usual National Forest and National Park entries. After starting with Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai’i, Arizona, Louisiana, South Dakota, Indiana, and Montana, we decided to do another state in the deep south. We made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in the south on the Gulf Coast and then zigzagging across the state with plenty of options to extend the trip.
You will have to take a ferry to enjoy the white sand beaches of West Ship Island, which are considered some of the best in the U.S. If you are stuck on the mainland, at least check out the visitor center and hiking trails just off Interstate 10.
Biloxi
Biloxi has beaches, a lighthouse, casinos, and the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum. I still want to see the Patriarch Oak, estimated to be more than 2,000 years old and located at Mary Mahoney’s Old French House seafood restaurant.
Tuxachanie National Recreation Trail runs 12 miles through De Soto National Forest with the path from its western trailhead following an old logging railroad right off Highway 49. Near the far eastern end of the trail is a lakeside World War II Prisoner of War camp with a pond.
Some sandhill cranes migrate to this forested spot for the winter, but a small population lives there year-round. There are trails, interpretive signs, and a visitor center.
National Park Service (NPS) rangers or volunteers are on location at the William Johnson House, Melrose Estate, and the Forks of the Road where hundreds of thousands of slaves were sold in the 1800s. The William Johnson House tells the story of a slave freed at age 11 who apprenticed to a barber, and became a successful businessman before his murder.
There is a nice campground with showers on Clear Springs Lake, accessed by a paved road four miles south of Highway 84. A one-mile trail circles the lake, which has a picnic shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This paved road runs 444 miles from the Mississippi River to Nashville, Tennessee, including 309 miles in Mississippi. The trace (or trail) started as an American Indian footpath and was heavily used in the 1800s by “Kaintuck” flatboatmen returning from New Orleans who left the Mississippi River at Natchez and continued on foot north. At several roadside pullouts, you can still follow portions of the “sunken” trail worn down by travelers over the centuries. Popular stops along the way include the boardwalk at Cypress Swamp outside Jackson and its three free campgrounds.
Paralleling the parkway, this trail exists in five segments totaling 67 miles in length. One of the longest sections is located north of Jackson (Miles 108-130). There are also eight miles of the original trace around the free Rocky Springs Campground (Mile 58) accessing Owens Creek Waterfall and a historic town site.
Day 4
Jackson
The capital city is home to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Museum of Mississippi History, and Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science is a 73,000-square-foot facility situated in a 300-acre forest with 2.5 miles of trails that also boasts a 200-seat theater and many aquariums, including “The Swamp” where alligators reside inside a large greenhouse.
In Jackson, the National Park Service manages the former home of a prominent Civil Rights Leader who was assassinated in his driveway in 1963. Across the street, there is a sidewalk through Myrlie’s Garden, a community garden where interpretive signs on the wooden fence tell the story of the Evers family.
There are several lakes here open to the public, including 50-acre Marathon Lake (which got its name a lumber company that closed in 1929). The lake was built in the 1950s for recreation in a former logging camp and now has 34 campsites (with water and electric hook-ups), a boat ramp, a swimming area, and a 1.7-mile trail that circles it.
The numerous failed attempts to take Vicksburg by force are evidenced by the 17,000 soldiers buried in the National Cemetery here. Following a 46-day bombardment, the city finally surrendered on July 4, 1863. The best part of visiting the park is walking through the partially-reconstructed U.S.S. Cairo, an ironclad gunboat which was carefully salvaged from the Yazoo River during the 1960s.
Delta National Forest is seasonally flooded for wildlife, but it was dry enough to walk up to the Kay Cypress Tree even when other trails were underwater during our April visit. The tree is more than ten feet in diameter even above the widely fluted base common to baldcypress. It is located across from Blue Lake on unpaved Fire Tower Road.
Located in a former cotton gin near the site of Emmett Till’s torture and murder on the farm of “J.W.” Milam in Glendora. Established in 2005, there is an atmosphere to the museum that bears the full weight of history, heightened by the short introductory video showing Emmett Till’s family members’ recollections of the events of 1955.
The National Park Service operates out of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, located in a strip mall opposite the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner. It has limited hours, but the courtroom where the September 1955 trial was held was unlocked when we visited on a Tuesday morning.
Optional stop at a Blues Museum
The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta (or simply “the Delta”) is a distinct section of western Mississippi renowned for its blues musicians. There is plenty to learn and listen to at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, GRAMMY Museum Mississippi in Cleveland, and B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola. Spend the night in the area to go to a bar for live music in the evening.
Optional stop at Belzoni Catfish Museum and Welcome Center
At its peak in 1993, this region produced 461-million pounds of catfish annually (about 60% of U.S. production) and still hosts the World Catfish Festival every April. The best part is that Belzoni has catfish sculptures spread around town, painted to represent different occupations like a fireman and nurse.
The National Park Service site here is tiny with no facilities and only a couple interpretive signs, but a local battlefield commission owns 1,400 acres with walking trails. The nearby Mississippi Final Stands Interpretive Center is located five miles east of the battlefield in Baldwyn.
Two cannons and a monument mark this one-acre National Park Service site surrounded by the city of Tupelo. Its visitor center is combined with the one for the Natchez Trace Parkway just outside Tupelo.
Tishomingo State Park is located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway (Milepost 304) northeast of Tupelo. The park’s sandstone and limestone rock formations represent the furthest southwest extent of the Appalachian Plateau. The park opened in 1939, after its infrastructure was built using local rock by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Several structures remain from that period, including a spectacular swinging bridge over Bear Creek.
Chewalla Lake Recreation Area is the most developed site offering a swimming beach and campground, plus fishing and boating opportunities. A 2.3-mile trail at the 260-acre lake passes an overlook and a reconstructed Choctaw burial mound. In the northeast corner off Highway 72, a short trail accesses Baker’s Pond, the source of the Wolf River. Further south, Lake Tillatoba is a fee-free primitive site managed by Tombigbee National Forest.
An important railroad crossroads in Corinth made it a strategic spot during the Civil War. In April 1862, two days of intense fighting across the border in Tennessee resulted in 23,746 soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing, and the Confederates abandoned the field and Corinth. There were an additional 7,000 casualties when they failed to recapture the town in October 1862, which is the focus of the museums in town.
Apron Museum
Iuka is home to the Apron Museum that has collected thousands of vintage aprons, plus it has a gift shop with quilts, crafts, and, of course, aprons for sale. Nearby, a restored wooden covered bridge is also worth a look-see and a drive across.
Central Maine is an ecological transition zone between boreal and broadleaf deciduous forests that provides habitat for Canada lynx, black bear, moose, and beaver. The waters are home to brook trout and Atlantic salmon, which are being reestablished with cooperation between government agencies and the Penobscot and other Wabanaki Nations. The official northern terminus of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Katahdin means “greatest mountain” in the Penobscot language and is the name of the 5,269-foot peak outside National Monument boundaries in neighboring Baxter State Park. This undeveloped landscape was purchased by the businesswoman Roxanne Quimby beginning in 2001 with the plan to turn it into a National Park. It was donated to the National Park Service to mark the centennial of its creation and, despite some controversy, was established by President Barack Obama.
Opened in 2025 near the south entrance, the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is seasonally open Friday through Sunday in a building inspired by Wabanaki culture. The National Park Service no longer works out of the Patten Lumbermen’s Museum (but it is still worth a visit). The 17-mile-long Katahdin Loop Road in the southern section of the National Monument is the most developed with picnic areas, vault toilets, and overlooks. The unpaved loop road is accessed from the east by miles of unpaved road and has no access to Baxter State Park. About 30 miles of the International Appalachian Trail runs through Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument with lean-tos dispersed along the route. Other than hiking, visitors enjoy stargazing, birding, leaf peeping in the fall, canoeing the East Branch of the Penobscot River with portages around its many waterfalls. In the winter, there are opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.
Best Trail
From the Haskell Gate at the end of New River Road, it is 3.5 miles out-and-back to Stair Falls on the East Branch of the Penobscot River. The first part follows an old road and the International Appalachian Trail before branching north at a signed junction to access the water and is also open to bicycles. The only trailhead accessed from a paved road is the 13.6-mile Seboeis Riverside Trail that starts outside the National Monument off Grand Lake Road.
Photographic Opportunity
One of the best views of Katahdin is from the top of Barnard Mountain, accessed by a two-mile one-way hike with 725 feet of elevation gain.
Every road within the National Monument is unpaved, so watch for potholes and logging trucks. The north and south entrances have gates that close seasonally.
Camping
Reservations are required to car camp at designated sites within Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and can be made online at Recreation.gov.
Raven About The Parks 